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Terror Plot - Good News/Bad News Story?

Posted : 6/9/2006 6:20:07 AM

I live in Toronto, so needless to say the news coverage on the "alleged" terrorist plot has received a lot of coverage here. Interestingly the majority of the reports in Canada have put a positive spin on the story - ie: "Officals on top of national security", "Ever vigilent security forces, foil terror attack" etc. While we are being reassured that our government is doing everything in their power to protect us against future attacks our level of comfort is some what shaken when we listen to the commentary coming from south of our border. The US spin on the story is quite critical of Canadian security and suggests the terrorist plot actually demonstrates incompetance and a lack of security.

I understand that government spins such stories to their own advantage. Canada obviously does not want to panic the public and cause a backlash against our Muslim cummunity. The US is in election mode, and security is a hot button topic. So I am curious how the general population sees the story. Good News? Bad News?

Julie Byers

Posted : 6/9/2006 11:34:02 AM

I take most alphbet media (abc/nbc/cbs) with a grain of salt, ( I can do that quite freely being only a couple of miles from the Great Salt Lake). The media is frequently critical of *all* security for North America. We have porous borders, and poorly trained personel at our airports. We aren't as safe as we think we are, and news stories of foiled plots are just lulling us into a false sense of security (pardon the pun). *sigh*........preparing for open can of worms.... Jules

denise_m

Posted : 6/9/2006 12:30:07 PM

Personally I am somewhat reassured with the recent arrests but I am not so naive to beleive there are not more of the same hatching plans as I write. I am in total agreement with US requiring passports to enter their country. After all they are required in almost every other country around the world. Our politicans think it will be detrimental to cross border trade and tourism. Once again it is the all mighty dollar over riding practicality.

jeano

Posted : 6/9/2006 3:04:38 PM

I don't want to have to have a passport to go down to "America" (as some of us in Alaska say). What a total pain that would be!

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 6/9/2006 5:00:44 PM

I agree, Jean. Passports should be required for folks coming from other parts of the world, but not from our own continent, for heavens sake. BTW, a friend I talked to today had a great idea - grant immediate legal status to all illegals here from Mexico and replace them with any seniors who want to just settle down on a beach in Ensanada of Guadalajara. I could go for that.[

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Joyce

jeano

Posted : 6/9/2006 5:30:07 PM

LOL Joyce!

There was a funny thing in the paper the other day. One of our local columnists got an email from someone that said we should dig a huuuuuuge moat between us and Mexico, take the dirt from the excavation and fix the levees in Louisiana, and fill the moat with alligators from Florida (who are running out of habitat). Many problems thus solved!

Benedict

Posted : 6/9/2006 6:46:44 PM

I like the swap idea lol.

I'm Englsh, but I lived in Canada for many years, and have visited America on many occasions. I think there is just more of a tendency in Canada to try to put a positive spin on things. I am not sure how I feel about needing a passport to travel to and from the States from within North America. On one hand, yes, security is an issue and obviously borders are not as tight as they could be. On the other hand, I have very rarely needed a passport to travel between countries in Europe - unless I was travelling by plane - and while I am not saying there are not problems, I don't hear of quite so many security breaches over here.

Although, at the moment they are cracking down because of the Soccer World Cup - "hooliganism" is a problem in Europe, the "my team is better than your team" attitudes don't only cause fights, it often causes murders, and anyone convicted of hooliganism is prevented from even entering the hosting country. Apparently for a major sporting event, the powers that be make an effort to keep out "problem elements"

Kate

Kate

Posted : 6/9/2006 7:21:04 PM

I think a passport is not such a bad idea especially if you have different immigration rules and regulations. I know we're on the same continent but with different immigration practices, it makes it difficult to say we should just have an open border.

Don't get me wrong. I love the idea that I can just go down to the States anytime I want (especially since we used to live in California so by brother and lots of friends are still there). I just think that the difference in immigration practices makes it tricky.